1960s Sun protection activities were first introduced when the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria identified the risks of overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
1980 Cancer Council Victoria set out to raise awareness of the dangers of UV by launching the iconic Slip! Slop! Slap! campaign featuring Sid the Seagull.
1986 The success of this campaign led to an expansion of activities, including the establishment of the Centre for Behavioural and Epidemiological Research.
1988 The SunSmart program was officially launched when Cancer Council Victoria received funding from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth).
2004 Cancer Council Victoria was designated a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborative Centre for Ultraviolet Radiation.
2007 Clare Oliver bravely told her ‘No tan is worth dying for’ story. The campaign was instrumental in the fight to make commercial solariums illegal.
2008 The iconic Slip! Slop! Slap! catch-cry was expanded to include Seek! and Slide! to help emphasise the five forms of sun protection.
2010 In partnership with the Australia Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) and the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), the SunSmart app was launched, helping make sun protection times more accessible through use of UV alerts.
2015 Following a decade of campaigning led by SunSmart and Cancer Councils across Australia, commercial solarium operation was banned.
2015 SunSmart launched the UV. It All Adds Up campaign to help educate the public around the dangers of cumulative exposure to UV.
2018 Thanks to philanthropic and government support, SunSmart launched the Dermoscopy for Victorian General Practice Program to aid in skin cancer detection and prevention in regional and rural Victoria.
2019 The Victorian Government took over funding of the SunSmart program from VicHealth.
2021 The Same Goes For You campaign is launched to encourage Victorian men to protect their skin from the sun’s UV.
2022 SunSmart app evolved into the SunSmart Global UV app with international collaborations to provide live and forecast UV index levels across the world and available in eight languages.
2023 The Don’t Let Cancer In campaign is launched to remind Victorians to cover up whenever the UV is 3 or above with all five forms of sun protection.
2023 The iconic Slip! Slop! Slap! jingle by Peter Best and Phillip Adams was recognised and added to the National Film & Sound Archive of Australia.